Power operated lawn mowing equipment, especially those of the rotating blade type, present hazards when small objects are present in the area to be mowed. Specifically, small objects struck by the rotating blades can be propelled out of the mower housing randomly and at velocities sufficient to inflict serious damage to persons and/or property located as far as twenty or thirty feet away from the mowing equipment.
Various attempts have been made to mitigate this hazard in various ways, usually through the use of some type of deflection mechanism. U.S. Pat. No. 178,634 issued to Butler, for example, shows a typical design for a lawnmower housing which controls the direction of propelled objects by deflecting them through a side chute in the housing. Such designs, however, have several disadvantages including the fact that although the chute restricts the direction of propelled objects, it does not control the velocity or distance over which objects can be thrown. In addition, the chute protrudes several inches from the surface of the mower housing, thereby preventing the mower from working directly adjacent to trees, fences, and other stationary objects.
One solution to the protrusion of the chute is to make the chute movable through the use of a hinge. U.S. Pat. No. 232,184 issued to Cognata, for example, discloses a combined housing deflector and motor shroud arrangement having a side chute connected to the housing by a hinge. The hinged chute can be folded back to allow the mower to work near stationary objects, but presents an inconvenience to the mower operator. When the mower approaches a stationary object, the operator must stop, walk to the side of the mower, lift the chute, mow around the stationary object, stop again, and replace the chute into its original position. Whether lifted or in position, the hinged chute generally does not control the velocity or distance of propelled objects.
The hinged chute is utilized in most commercial mowing equipment currently available, but because of the inconvenience it presents, many users, particularly lawn-care professionals who use mowers daily, either remove the chute altogether, fail to lower the chute to its proper position or replace the chute with a hinged flap which hangs flush over the side opening of the mower housing. This vertical flap allows the mower to work close to stationary objects and restricts objects from being thrown out of the housing but also adversely impacts the discharge of grass clippings. Another disadvantage of the vertical flap is that it is flush with the housing skirt and the mower operator's hand or foot comes within a half-inch of the rotating blades when lifting or closing the flap to clear clogged grass clippings, which represents a serious safety hazard to the operator.
Another approach to restricting random projection of objects from lawnmower housings is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,023 issued to Comer. A safety shield which rests on the ground and provides a total enclosure around the mower is provided. The provision of a discharge opening is optional. This configuration presents disadvantages similar to those presented by the aforementioned housing deflector, chute, and flap in that the discharge opening is either totally open, thereby allowing discharge of objects, or totally closed, thereby restricting discharge of grass in addition to restricting discharge of objects.